Hearts Have No Color

"Hearts have no color Daddy.  You taught me that when I was a little girl.”

This is maybe my favorite line in the The River Hideaway. I won't give away too much for those of you who have not read the book yet & if you haven't what in the world are you waiting on? :) 

What I love about this line is that it has taken on a life of its own with many of the readers. I  have had- Hearts have no color- repeated back to me by various readers. My friend, Richard Busby, suggested at a book signing in Raleigh to sign the books with that caption. I don't know why I did not think of it sooner. 

There are a few reasons why this line means so much to me. The lesson was taught by my favorite character in The River Hideaway, Clarence Wilkins, a black man, refuses to allow the prejudice he endures in his life to change his way of belief that- "Hearts have no color." He teaches this lesson to his son & daughter. But there comes a part in the story when his daughter ventures down a road that he does not approve of & he does not live out the words that he has taught. She turns his words back to him. What will he do?

The River Hideaway is fictional-unlike our lives, though at times I sure wish I could write some of my decisions off to fiction. I love the line in my book because I believe it with all my heart. I believe it because I believe in God- a Father that loves His children. Do you think for one moment that our loving Father considers the color of our skin? I don't. 

I have shared often about growing up in a church where racism flourished. Even as a little boy during the racial conflict that was a big part of Wilmington during that time as well as in much of the country I recall sitting in church thinking isn't this where we should all come together? But our doors were closed to anyone of color. I never shared my thoughts with anyone & I forgot about the thoughts a little boy once had for most of my life. But don't you think God knew that a little boy would one day grow up & write a story about racially charged times? I suspect even then He was planting the seed for the type man I would grow up to be. 

Recently, I heard a message from a black minister who felt the Lord wanted him to integrate the church that he was Shepherd at. It was met with resistance by some of the congregation but he pressed on because that was his directive from God.  The church is now diversified.

I wish I could tell you that I never was prejudice as I grew up in the south or that I had no problem when our schools begin to integrate, or when we were bused to what was previously an all black school I said, "Great. Sign me up." No, sadly I gave into the silly stereotypes of that time. 

But on the night when God showed up to a lost young man, walking down a black street & I experienced first hand how real our God is I knew without anyone telling me that God looked on the heart. The color of our skin matters not. Not in any circumstance. 

1 Samuel 16:7
The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

I coached basketball for twenty years. I was asked often. How many black kids do you have on  your team. What a question. No one ever asked me how many white kids I had on my team. My answer was always the same. "I don't know."
That was the truth. Oh, I could have sat down & thought about it or looked at the team photograph but it was not information I stored in my head. I would hope my boys would say coach just wanted us to play hard, play smart, be a good teammate. He didn't care if we were purple if we just did that.

    

Remember when the disciples asked Jesus about Heaven & He said you don't even understand earthly things. 

I am pretty sure of a few things about Heaven. There will be no us & them. There will be no racial division. No prejudice. No stereotypes. Maybe just one heart all tied into our Father.

  

Hearts have no color.  

I believe that is more than a line in a fictional story. 

Saying Good-Bye to "That One Person."

This week I was granted one of the greatest honors of my life. I was asked to say a few words about "That One Person," my Coach, Ed Wilson. I was also asked to say the closing prayer at graveside & to read Psalm 23 to those that attended this great man's funeral.


The irony of reading Psalm 23 is that it was the second consecutive Monday that I spoke Psalm 23 in regards to Coach.  The first time was the previous Monday when I visited him at the care facility he lived in. He was not having a good day & that makes me all the more grateful today that I did have one last really good visit with him before Christmas. He told me that day he sure was glad I had come to visit him. Despite his declining health he was always polite & the staff at Trinity loved him.

This last visit he tried to tell me he couldn't talk. He was confused & I told him it was okay. He didn't have to try to talk. I began to pray silently over him. Now, I am not as bold in my faith as say my wife is, who will pray over someone in the grocery store out loud & not care who is around.

You can choose to believe this next part or not. Truthfully until some events occurred later I was not so sure myself. But as I was praying silently I heard very clearly in my spirit, "Pray out Loud."

I chose to ignore it. Again clearly.  "Pray out Loud." I think I shook my head at what I was hearing. Again it comes-  "Pray out Loud."

I began to pray out loud over Coach. Thanking God for all this man had meant to me. At some point I began praying Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

   He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Before I heard those words to pray out loud, Coach was not just shivering, his entire body was shaking. I can't tell you the exact moment this happened but after reciting Psalm 23 to the best of my memory I noticed he was no longer trembling.

So one week later, here I was this time saying it out loud for the people who attended Coach's celebration. Truth is stranger than fiction and God's truth more real than anything you will find in this world. 

I hope those that know me well know that I try to be as honest a man as I can be. Sometimes it makes people uncomfortable when I don't hide the many wrong turns that I took in my life. Yesterday when I spoke about Coach during the service I told the people that attended that I don't want to even think where I might be if not for that one moment-that crossroad- when I asked Coach for help & then coached baseball under him for the next four years before moving on to coach the same age boys in basketball.

Coach diverted me from continuing down a bad path-not right away mind you, but he gave me something good in a time when I had nothing positive. I was not in school. I was not employed. God chose to use an old baseball coach as my angel of mercy.

I have told my new wife, Julie many times that without Coach I would never have had the honor of being her husband. I would not have a pension-that while not big, allows me time to write and not work a full time job. Surely, I would not have coached the same age boys in the sport of basketball for twenty years. 

Ironically, on the evening that I received the news of his passing I had enjoyed lunch that day with Jeff Neher and Kevin Keen who played basketball for me over thirty years ago. I told Kevin after I received the news about Coach that I would have never been his coach without Ed Wilson. He replied quickly, "I know. I have heard you say many times the impact he had on you."

Yesterday was sad in some ways but there was laughter mixed with our tears. I laughed today as I recalled we were carrying the casket to the grave site and we were talking quietly & chuckling. From behind us we heard, "You boys hashaminute!" from one of his former players. That got us more tickled because that was something Coach said when he really wanted your attention.

Charlie Rivenbark told a story about a rival coach. One day the man asked Coach why he was better-won more than he did. The man added, "I have just as good a talent. I know just as much baseball as you do."

I love Coach's response.

"That's because you are coaching baseball. I am coaching boys."

Charlie's brother, Bill also played and coached for Mr. Wilson. He shared this story yesterday. He was ten years old. It was a tie game in the last inning. Bill had been pitching great the entire game and a big hitter, Jeff came up to bat that he had already struck out twice. He was feeling good and Mr.Wilson called for a curve ball. Bill had a good one but this one hung and was hit out of the ball park. Game over. The next part brings tears to my eyes because not only can I envision it, but it spoke to the heart of Coach.

These are Bill's words.

I crumbled on the mound. Before Jeff reached second base Mr Wilson came to the mound and put his arms around me and told me that it was his fault. He said we had fooled him all night and should not have thrown the curve. 

I never knew that in 1967-1969 that as a young boy that not only would I be Coach's boy then but would remain so for the next fifty years. He wrote job reference letters. He visited me when I got into trouble for selling marijuana. A lot of it.

I am not given to hyperbole when I say "without Coach...". That day at the fence, when it all changed, that without him there are so many good things that would have never occurred. It was 1-2 years later after I left that lifestyle that I heard the news of two of my former "business" associates. They were arrested on a ship with tons of marijuana. In all likelihood, I would have been on that ship. The state would have put me away for many years. I doubt my life would have ever recovered. I am not sure I would even be here.

My last words when I spoke at his funeral were as true as anything I could ever speak.

Jesus Christ saved me but only after Ed Wilson rescued me off of the scrap heap of this life.

I am glad my last words to him were- "I love you, Coach."

I picture baseballs flying around Heaven, Coach. Doc probably had a mitt & ball waiting on you.

http://billybeasley.blogspot.com/2013/03/that-one-person.html

The Publishing World

Venturing into the publishing world can be a daunting task. I am no expert and if that is what you are looking for it is probably best you stop here. What I can and will do is share what I have learned along the way and what I am still learning.

Several weeks ago I decided to try my hand at substitute teaching and bring a few extra dollars of needed income into our home. I will not dazzle you with my experiences but if I was not as aware of the challenges teachers face before I now have a somewhat clearer perspective.

Some of the classes I have subbed for were English classes and some of those students were in the process of writing stories. I love to ask a simple question to these classes.

How many copies does the average book sell?

The hands shoot up and you can count on that first answer being at least one million. Finally, some astute kid after I shake my head to all the previous answers decides it is far less. But even then it is not as low as two hundred copies, which is what I was told by a publishing team I have become friends with. That is counting traditional, self, and hybrid publishing.

It is easy to view writers such as John Grisham, J.K. Rowling etc. but there are a vast number of authors with virtually no name recognition such as myself.  

As an author of my first book, The River Hideaway, it goes to show that I would not be subbing if the answers of one million copies sold was anywhere near true. It would be nice if it were so.

Anyone that has a desire to write basically has one dream in common. They want to see their book in print. The first day my books arrived-to see that cover with the title and my name on it..It was a humbling, fulfilling experience. Even better was to hide a copy in the wine cabinet already signed for my wife. I suggested she retrieve a bottle of wine for us. She should have known something was up as I am not much of a wine drinker. The sheer excitement when she so excitedly grabbed the book. That is a moment for which there is no price tag.

I wrote the bulk of The River Hideaway in 1997. The second publisher I sent it too was John F. Blair. I still have the letter from Anne Waters, who read and loved my book. She could not persuade the board to choose my book for their one fictional title for the year. Still, she gave me a list of five publishing contacts that she knew personally and she vowed to buy a copy when it was on the shelf. Slam dunk from here right?

Three of the five immediately responded-no new fiction and no new authors. They would not even agree to read it. One of the publishers had decided to publish only children's stories and the other moved to open another publishing company. I finally found him and when I began to explain what it was about-he cut me off. Anne had already spoken on my behalf and he was excited to read The River Hideaway. Here is where it really got frustrating. He never read it. He was busy with running a new company and he passed it off to his acquisitions editor. They kept it for two years. I even came home to a phone call one day of how much they liked it. Ultimately, they passed. 

I knew getting traditionally published was difficult. Here is what I did not know. I had no clue how difficult it would be to even persuade them to read your novel in its entirety. Many will ask for a one page query letter and that is all. Some will ask for three chapters or the first fifty pages after that. It is an accomplishment to persuade a publisher to read your entire story.

Currently, I have another manuscript in front of a publisher. Here is an example of what you may deal with in getting published. The publisher has decided they will commit to one more title for next year. They have narrowed it down to two books. The other is nonfiction and the author has a built-in speaking circuit. I write fiction and have no such platform. I take it as a positive that they have not already said no.I have been on the fence with them for months.

People suggested often over the years that I self publish. That is certainly an option for writers. Often it is the best way to go, especially if you have a profession or an expertise that has you traveling and speaking to groups.

Maybe I just craved the approval that someone would read my book and say we want to publish your book. I think the traditional publishing rejection rate is 98-99 percent. That is frustrating and can be so demoralizing that some choose not to even try. Self publishing is 100 percent successful because you are footing all the bills. Of course if your book takes off you are also going to gain the large percentage of the profits.

I received no advance for The River Hideaway & I make less than $2 per book. But the important part of my contract for me is that I would not be asked for any money. I could buy my books at a discount, which I have for private signings but there was no stipulation requiring me to buy a certain amount.

Would I sign the same contract today? No. But do I regret signing the one I did? No, as well. I have seen my dream in print. It is off my bucket list to be traditionally published.

Since I have not self-published I certainly am no expert but I will share what I do know. Remember we all have that dream of seeing our books in print. Publishers know this as well and there are many self-publishing companies you would do well to steer clear of. Don't let your dream for being published get in the way of your business sense. Read the contract carefully. Hire an attorney to read it. That may not be cost wise for many of us. At least find a good business person you know and have them read it. I did.

Beware of package deals of self-publishing. I don't know how many people have said they said my package was going to cost $3,000 and it wound up being much more.

We have a huge advantage with the Internet. I was contacted one day by someone who had heard I got published. They said their friend had been offered a publishing contract by a major publishing company and they wanted my advice about the contract. Later, I talked with the friend and they mentioned how they did not want to have to take a loan out for the contract. I researched the publisher and read countless reviews of how they scammed people. I am not making fun of anyone. But when you have such a huge dream you can rule out your good common sense that God hopefully gave us all. It is not a major contract for you if you are carrying all the costs. I did this as delicately as I could. I suggested that anytime before entering into a contract with any type of publisher or agent that you simply type the name added by the word "review" or "scam". You may find one, maybe two scathing rebukes by a disgruntled writer. I don't think that is much too be concerned about. But if there is a pattern of hundreds, I would be wary.

The sad thing is that the publisher mentioned in the above paragraph scammed countless people while parading their company as a Christian establishment that published Christian writers. So if you view yourself as a Christian writer, don't give your trust and your money to a company thinking because they say they are Christian that they will be honest and fair. I think that these type companies, in all walks of business, have gotten so bad that when someone puts a fish symbol on their work vehicle I begin to be more suspicious than trusting. Now, before anyone shoots me an ugly message, I know this is not the case with all businesses and there are many with their fish symbol on the work vehicle who are loyal, honest, and live their faith even when it comes to money.


All self-publishing is not bad. I know a local author who has always self-published her fiction. She has a certain niche that buys her every book & she is comfortable with that. She also found a very good self-publisher. The publisher has been very honest with her and even chose not to charge her for certain items when she reordered. I know another inspirational writer who wrote a wonderful book that I read. He has a speaking circuit and he really did his homework about publishing his book. He also had a mentor to guide him who has written and had several books published traditionally. The key is he researched his options. His book has been successful and most of the profits are his.

My encouragement is that you do your homework.  The same is to be said for hybrid publishing. Read the contract many times and have someone you trust read it as well. My guess is that as more publishers have financial concerns, the growth of hybrid publishing will grow exponentially.

I know many people prefer self or hybrid publishing so their stories do not get altered dramatically. I went with a small press and fortunately, they only edited & at the end asked me to shave a few thousand words to keep the cost of the book down. My story stayed intact.

They were also open to my book cover ideas and ultimately they chose the one I pushed for the most. I can't tell you how many compliments I have received for the book cover of The River Hideaway. My friend, Robbie Johnson, gave me his photograph and the only payment he received is my great appreciation that he shared his art.

Please, regardless of who you seek to publish your book check out their current book covers. Do they look professional? Do they draw your attention? Also, do not be shy about speaking with their authors to see if they are happy with the publisher.

I know it is easier said than done but don't throw away your business sense or your money because your desire is so great to see your book in print. I understand. I pursued getting published on and off for fifteen years before a publisher said yes. It was my dream and I received plenty of discouragement along the way. I had not sent anything out in years when my new wife demanded I try again. I sent it to one publisher and they offered a contract several months later.

Let's say you get published traditionally. Please harbor no illusions that your publisher is going to spend a lot of time & money promoting your book. The promotion is on you. I was able to get my book on the shelf at Barnes and Noble. Was it easy? No. I talked to them and the manager at the time said, "We will order six books and if they are not sold in two weeks they get returned. They sold quickly and they placed another order that sold quickly and then they invited me for a book signing.

I tried to tell them how hard we were networking but they said I would be lucky to sell a dozen books. That is not a bad figure. I have had other signings in other places where I sold less than that. They had thirty books on hand and they were gone inside of forty five minutes. Fortunately, I had two boxes in the truck. There were over two hours left in the signing and I knew more people were coming. I was not going to have people take their time from their busy schedules and make a trip for nothing. We sold another thirty books before the day was done & a few months later they had me back two weeks before Christmas & we sold over fifty books & nearly sold out again. It also led to Barnes & Noble offering me signings in Jacksonville and Raleigh, NC. The one in Raleigh came within a few books of selling out as well.

I have often joked that if I would have made $100,000 on The River Hideaway that it would amount to about minimum wage. One day, I broke the calculator out & began estimating my time spent writing, rewriting, promotion, etc.. Guess what? I don't think that the minimum wage statement is far off.

As much as I pray that one day I might be successfully financially being an author-of even more importance I have had many poignant moments derived from this little story. A man I greatly respected was being read this story the last week of his life. I have had several people say to me that they hated for the story to end. (My favorite compliment) I have had good Christians say that it made them think about their relationship with the Lord. Some said that it made them think-did they see truly beyond race & as my favorite character, Clarence said- Hearts have no color. People were drawn to characters derived from my heart & mind.

I got to see two dreams come true. That someone would be reading my book on the beach and enjoying it. I also know it was given many times as a Christmas gift. What value can be placed on being part of someone's Christmas?

So for all the disappointments along the way. The many times I gave up. Would I do it all over again?

You bet I would.

The journey continues. Remember writers write. Don't waste your time talking about writing. Write. 

Do our changes sometimes shock us?

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Maybe it is because I fell so far from my Born Again experience that I embrace this scripture wholeheartedly. In fact, it has become my second favorite scripture. 

Isn't it encouraging to experience those moments that reveal the change in us? I call those the it's okay to pat myself on the back moments. Joyce Meyer often says in her messages, "I may not be who I need to be but thank God I am not who I use to be."


Do you ever have a moment where you truly realize how much you have changed, or even more to the point how much you have allowed the Spirit of God residing in you to reshape you? 

For so many years I dreamed, pursued a traditional publishing contract for something I had written. I would have given anything to have this dream come true. I use to say often, "God, if you are not going to help than at least get out of my way & allow me to have this." I came close so often that I felt that He was keeping his foot on my dream coming true. I have no idea if he was interfering in what I desired so intently in my heart or not. I do know that The River Hideaway changed, at least in my opinion to a better story when I let go of the wheel of this life & I wrote it again-increasing the spiritual aspect of the story that began with the character Louie.

One day, with little thought as I debated about the ways to get the word about The River Hideaway out, I said out loud. "God, I would rather sell a thousand copies with You than a million without You."

It really did not dawn on me immediately the magnitude of what I had just said. I said  it casually with no room for debate. That is how much I had changed in what was most important. 

Matthew 6:33 
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

It is one of those times when this scripture is alive. Now, don't get me wrong. If you think I live this scripture to the fullest every day than you are granting me far too much credit. It is human nature to do it our way & I fall prey to that but when I do I return to the basic value of my life.

God, regardless of how much I desire something, or the rewards involved-if you are not in it I want no part of it. 

I love this tweet by Christine Caine. It says it far better than I ever could. 

I want to be part of what He orchestrates.

Have a great day everyone & I pray a wonderful Thanksgiving for each of you.

Marriage Should Be Work?

I never cared for the relationship advice about how you had to work at it. Don't get me wrong. I understand the premise, but it always made it sound more like a job to me. Relationships while none are perfect should be fun & enjoyable..If not, I am not sure what the point is.

As Julie was backing out the drive this morning & both of us giggling about my silly antics. I thought about all the laughter we share with each other. How we are grateful for new opportunities that will allow us to spend more time together.

It is no secret that I have been around the block a few times but once I let go of what I thought I needed, God provided me with more than I could ever dream of with Julie. And Julie was & is His child. A child He loves dearly.

I think it is safe to say we have all charged down paths we knew not to be good for us with the thinking that we will invite God in on the back end of our deal. This above tweet from Christine Caine I found to be very succinct & powerful. 

God is not obligated to sustain what He did not orchestrate.

I lived like this most of my life. Charging ahead from one adventure to another & always leaving God on the outside of what I desired. I fully intended to bring Him in on the back end after I got everything I wanted.

Big shocker here. It was an epic fail. 

But I reached a point when everything I had tried failed. It is like all the years I spent coaching kids in the great sport of basketball. One of our favorite things that my assistant coach, Richard Mears & I said to kids so frequently that I am sure they rolled their eyes at us. "Good habits breed good habits & bad habits breed bad habits." For example, you have a kid who has repeated a bad habit so often that it feels natural to him. You try to convince him to change because he lacks proper form. His complaint would be it does not feel right. My response was, "But your way is not working. What do you have to lose?"

That was me. I reached a point where I had to come to grips that my way was not working. I trusted my thinking of what was right for me more than I trusted God. 

"God, I do not wish to be alone forever but if You are not in it I would rather remain alone for the rest of my life because it will fail like all the rest." That was the place I finally reached.

I don't know that anyone that knew Julie & I before we begin to date that would have said, "Now they would make a great match." But yet looking back I have no doubts that God was preparing both of us for our eventual meeting. 

I have been very blessed on occasion to have witnessed the Supernatural works of the Holy Spirit. Times when I knew without question it was as the wonderful Christian Author, Mark Batterson wrote, "Sometimes God shows up. Sometimes God shows off."

Two months before I met Julie I was in the shower. Don't you love how God does not stand on pretense? He wants to come in it & does not matter what you might be doing. 

As clear as someone in the room speaking to me I heard. "Get your house in order." What? What does that mean? I thought about it for several days and then I kind of forgot about it.

Fast forward a few months & Julie & I are on our third date & it is the first time she was in my house. She was seated at the kitchen table and I went in the back for something & I felt that tug & reminder of what I heard in the shower that day. 

I sat down next to her & shared the story. Her eyes glazed over & she made me repeat it again. "Say that again. Just like you said it the first time."

I did. She shook her head. "I heard that same thing recently. In fact, I heard it multiple times. I asked God what it meant and He said, The man I have for you is coming and he is coming quickly." She had been alone for ten years waiting on her Boaz. 

I don't remember anymore of our conversation that day. What we both took away was that God made it clear that if our two paths merged to one-He would be on board. He would bless us. We still had to sort through things because we both had our share of scars. We are not robots. We did not rush right out & get married because God showed us something.  

There was an age difference that I was not comfortable with but you know it was more than that. I knew Julie to be the far better Christian than me. That is still true today. I was not sure I deserved her. I was not certain I was a good enough man for her. There is not a week that goes by that I don't say, "God, I do not deserve my wife but I am not returning the gift that You gave me." 

That is what Julie is to me. A gift from our Father.

Last night as I sat on the porch waiting for Julie to come home I felt a sadness & I drifted to questioning myself, which I am apt to do. I have always been my own worse critic. I found encouragement as I sorted through my thoughts when I came to a simple fact. 

God trusted me with his precious child that He loves dearly. He thought I was the right man for Julie. Me. He thought I was good enough for her. He did not think it. He is God and He knows it.

It encouraged me because if He thought I was good enough for Julie-why should I question that? Question Him?

I still wrestle at times like many of us that say in our mind we know God loves us but it does not always make the journey to our heart. Why is it I can see Julie as someone that God loves dearly & not so much myself? Just because I may view Julie as more deserving of God's love does not mean that is how it is. 

I was given a gift by my Father. Wow! I am closing in on a pretty big number. I will be sixty years old in another year. We have been married now for over two years & we have been together almost three years. Our first date. The seven hour coffee as it is referred to now is just around the corner. Next Monday, October 26.Hopefully, when people see us together they say, "Wow. If that is not God I don't know what it could be."

Gifts are suppose to be fun, right? So are relationships.

My gift, Julie. I love you Baby.
Happy 3 years (almost) 

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The Simple Things

Many years ago, I shared with someone that if God came down from the Heavens & preached a fifteen minute sermon that I felt reasonably sure He would encourage us to simplify our lives. The person I shared this with took it personally, though I did not mean it that way, & I surely included myself among those needing to remove the clutter from our lives. She wanted to know how she could do that with all that was on her plate. She had a good point. Still, I am pretty certain most of us could purge some of the weight from our lives. We could choose to live a more simple lifestyle. We could enjoy hobbies without being consumed by them. We could venture outside, walk a trail, and appreciate all the things God has granted us for free. I  have to confess that is a big deal for Julie and I right now as my leg is in a cast and walking from one end of our modest home to the other, aided by crutches is about the extent of my journey. A walk in the woods right now would probably reduce me to tears of gratefulness.

We all reminisce about special times and moments in our life. I would wager that these treasured memories are for the most part about simple times in our lives.

Recently, I sat on the porch during a driving rainstorm, reading a fictional novel. One of my simple areas of enjoyment. We have a new family that has moved in across the street and I got the biggest kick out of their kids. They were riding their bicycles in the cul-de-sac. It was raining so hard that it was probably four to six inches deep at one time. They were having a blast. Their parents stood on the top deck watching and allowing their kids this freedom.  The rain passed & the kids began shouting, "It's a double rainbow."

The kids took me back to some of the good places of my childhood. Playing stick-ball in the street with Rick Phipps for hours at a time. Retrieving soft drink bottles for that whopping two cent deposit. Taking them to the store and on a good day maybe receiving over two dollars from the store owner. Spending some of that money on baseball card packs and hoping that Willie Mays was in one of my treasured packs. The basketball court at the Phipps home, courtesy of his wonderful dad, Richard. Many grown ups today will tell you that they never played the wonderful game of basketball in another place that they enjoyed as much as those games we participated in as kids. Mr. Phipps has kept that court up, long after his sons, Rick & Al were adults living in other cities. Why would he choose to keep that court in working order when there are no games to be played? Because it has proven a long time treasured memory for him as well.

We had two channels on television during this time. No video games. No cell phones. Fast food was a rare treat. I still recall Mom allowing me to have three hamburgers at Hardee's occasionally. They were fifteen cents each. How tragic a life we kids lived, right? It was anything but that. We did not feel deprived. We had a baseball field near the Phipps and Strickland's homes that was built for semi pro baseball games on Sunday. Yet, another treat in a simpler time. You know who enjoyed that field the most? The adults only used it on Sunday afternoon for a few hours. The rest of the week it was ours. We played whatever sport was in season all day long and we had no kids that I can recall in our neighborhood struggling with weight issues. Regardless of our high calorie and sugar intake we burned it all off. The only thing that got in our way was the occasional yard work mandated by our parents. Okay, that is not a treasured memory.

I don't mean to sound like an old guy living in the past. Like most of you I have way too much technology in my life these day. Worries that can consume me when I allow them too.

And just as when we were kids aren't our treasured adult times built around simple things? Two and a half years ago, Julie and I chose for a honeymoon site a small one bedroom cabin with a beautiful mountain view, on the outskirts of Stone Mountain State Park. It was inexpensive and very simple. There were no fancy restaurants nearby and I doubt we would have chosen to go if there were. There was a charcoal grill and a hot tub right outside the front door. We spent the days exploring the Park. The only requirement was to keep putting one foot in front of the other as we walked to the top. Walking back down we took the leisurely longer trail that included waterfalls. My favorite aspect of the mountains.

On our last night I planned a fancy dinner. My surprise to her. I prepared our food to take with us, along with a bottle of wine. There was a waterfall in the Park that was just off the road, requiring little but a simple walk to reach. We sat by the waterfall and enjoyed dinner, and each other. I don't mean this disparagingly to anyone. We all have different things we enjoy, but for this simple boy you can keep your five star restaurants and their presentations. Who in the world can eat presentations? That evening by the waterfall was our kind of dinner and we won't forget it. It will always be a treasure.

So if we, and please note I say, we, including myself in this life that we allow to become so confusing with our wants & expectations. If our treasured memories are around simple things why do we chase things in life that are anything but? Why are we not building more memories of cherished less complex times? It is not too late.

Watching those kids yesterday also reminded me of when my son, Micah was little. Micah always loved movies & often our simple enjoyment was movie night. Pizza, popcorn, and a movie or two in the comforts of whatever home we were living in at the time. Even going to the small video store to pick up the movies is a treasured memory. There was a wonderful man, Ben, who worked there & he had a voice so low, so powerful, that it brings James Earl Jones to mind. If I ran into him outside of the store in a crowded area it seemed he only had to whisper across people, "Hey, big guy. How are you doing?" I would smile and say, "Ben."

One day as I was picking out our movie, Micah was playing the pin ball machine at the front of the store. I had given him money on the way in as he asked if he could play it. Sometimes, it took awhile to find a movie as we were frequent customers & we watched movies as fast or faster as the new ones that were suitable for viewing arrived. I finally found a movie, paid Ben, & we left the store. On the drive home I said, "Micah, you played a long time on the money I gave you for the pin ball machine."

His response was, "I ran out of money & Ben walked around from behind the counter & put more money in the machine." Ben never said a word as he performed this task. A simple gesture for a small child that spoke to his gentle nature. It was my small child & Ben probably thought nothing of it but I have never forgotten that. It is a cherished simple memory that is stored away in my heart.

I will wager that as Micah ages he will hold dear to movie nights & other simple times that we shared together just as Rick & I still talk about stick-ball games that lasted for hours decades ago. I sure hope he does.

Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


Let's go build some simple treasures. Maybe I can find a way to do it even while hobbled by these dang crutches & a surgically repaired ankle. Have a great day.